Conveyer



Des. 4, 1945.

B. HENRICKSEN CONVEYER Filed June 2, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec, 4,X945.. B. HENR'lcKsEN CONVEYER Filed June 2, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 V fim INVENTOR jaz'ne em'ckserl Mfw A 'ITORNIE YS Dec- 4, @45V B. HENRlcKsEN2,390,302

CONVEYER Filed vJune 2, 1943 e sheets-sheet 4 o Q Q o 57 5a /15 36 U U Oi l /a INVENTOR 16 jame fenricksen ATTORNEY a. HENRICKSEN 2,399,302

CONVEYER 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 2, 1943 1N VE N TOR Ejarn eHemcksen i' ATTORNEYS ec. 49 E945 B. HENRICKSEN 223999392 CONVEYER FiledJune 2, 1943 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Unloading Station 97 Laddzrj 107 Stationama-17M Connected ta energize Motor a )Wagner/ely comm/led' Clutch.

r INVENTOR Down control circuz' Patented Dec. 4, 194s UNITED STACGNVEYEB Bjarne Henricksen, Hudson County, N. J., assignor to SedgwickMachine Works, Inc., Poughkeepsie, N. Y., a corporation of New YorkApplication June 2, 1,94%3, Serial No. 489,325

(Cl. 19g- 135) 11 Claims.

This invention relates to conveyers. Certain features of the inventionare applicable to vertical, horizontal, or inclined conveyers used totransport articles from location to location. For convenience I includeloose material within the term "article," The particular embodiment ofthe invention which will be disclosed and discussed is an ammunitionhoist, intended for conveying ammunition from the magazine deck of aship to a gun deck and vice versa.

Among the objects oi' the invention are: the provision of an improved,inexpensive, and reliable start-stop conveyer for conveying articlesfrom a loading station to a delivery station; the provision of improvedmeans for causing a conveyer to automatically pause in station positionfor loading and unloading; the provision of conveyer drive means of a.type adaptable for station dwells of different durations; the provisionof control or safety means for automatically holding the conveyer instation position until unloaded at the delivery station and, if desired,loaded at the loading station; the provision of a conveyer adapted fromboth the mechanical and control standpoint for carrying dierent kinds ofarticles; and the provision of a conveyer of a. type which lends itselfto a large amount of preabrication of standardized parts usable in avariety ci installations.

Various additional objects of the invention will be apparent .to skilledpersons from a consideration of thefollowing disclosure.

Fig. i ci the drawings is a diagrammatic side elevation ci an ammunitionhoist embodying the present invention. The drive for the hoist isomitted for clarity.

Fig, 2 is a diagrammatic elevation looking from the rear of the hoistand showing the drive.

3 isa partly diagrammatic front elevation, with portions in verticalsection, showing primarily the loading and unloading stations andassociated portions of the conveyer.

Fig. 4 is a partly diagrammatic vertical section showing primarily theloading and unloading sta- Fig. 8 is a largely diagrammatic sideelevation of the fragment shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an electrical control system whichmay be used with the conveyer.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view showing a modication of the conveyer drive.

Fig. 11 is an illustrative speed-time curve of the hoist when using thedrive of Figs. 2, 7 and 8, the drive being assumed to be in continuousoperation.

Fig. 12 is an illustrative,speedtime curve of the hoist when using adrive modified in the manner shown in Fig. l0, the drive being assumedto be in continuous operation.

Reference will rst be had to Figs. 1 and 2. The hoist is inclosed withina casing that is preferably water tight. This casing includes 9, lowertrunk section ll, an upper trunk section l2, and any desired number ofintervening trunk sections I4 (one shown). These trunk sections areprefabricated from sheet steel and may be of pressed and weldedconstruction. Integral with the trunk sections are iianges I5 arrangedto be bolted together. The hoist shown extends from a magazine deck,through one intervening deck, and discharges just above a. gun deck. Bythe use ofl additional sections Il, the height of the hoist may beincreased as desired, and the hoist maf,1 pass through any desirednumber of intervening decks.

Closures i6 and i1 are provided at the loading and unloading stations,respectively. sures are water tight and may be either removable coversor hinged doors. For convenience of reference, the front" of the hoistis considered to be the side on which these closures are 1ocated.

The articles are hoisted, as will be described later, by endless linkchains 20 and 2l. These chains run over upper sprockets 22 and 24respectively, and lower sprockets 25 and 26, respectively (see also Fig.4l. The lower sprockets are idler-s mounted on a shaft i3 (Fig. 3) thejournals of which are shiftable by screws 23, 23 to tighten the chains.The branches of the chains are guided by inwardly facing guide channelsat Itri! and I9, I9 respectively (see also Fiss. 4, 5 and 6). As shownin Fig. 1, the guide channels direct the hoisting and return branches ofthe chains toward each other, thereby diminishing the front to reardimension of the conveyer casi118.

The chainguide channels may be formed o,-

These clo- Ato play in loading projectiles and the powder The space tothe right of containers therefor. the divider is arranged to receive a5" projectile 55 and guide it into the arcuate cut-out 4o in the shaft21 is designated as a whole by D. It includes two depending endless linkchains 28 and 29 which pass over upper sprockets 30 and 3l,

respectively, and over lower sprockets 33 and 43,

respectively. The upper sprockets are mounted on conveyer shaft 21; andchains 28 and 29 are driven. in start-stop manner by another endlesslink chain 32, as will be described later.

The drive D is shown positioned beneath shaft 21 and alongside of theconveyer casing. It should be noted, however, that the drive may beplaced in any radial position with respect to shaft 21. For example, thedrive may be so located that chains 2S and 29 extend in a horizontaldirection or in any inclined direction. This permits the drive to beplaced in various positions, according. to the space available invarious installations. Preferably the drive D is inclosed in its ownhousing, which is not shown except for a fragment in Fig. 3. Suchhousing may be of water tight construction.`

Reference will now be had to Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6. The articles to behoisted are received by shelves or nights which are carried by thehoisting chains 2li and 2l, and which bridge the space between thechains. These nights are arranged in'pairs, the pairs being at intervalsalong the chains, and each pair including an upper night designated as awhole by U and a lower night designated as a whole by L. The ends of thenights have depending portions which are ainxed to two consecutiveknuckle pins 34 of the hoisting chain, those particular pins being madeextra long for that purpose. All of the knuckle pinsof the gularportions 36 and forwardly projecting tongues 31 and 38. The bottom facesof the lower nights have suitable reenforcing ribs. as shown upper nightU. The space to the left of the divider is arranged to receive thecompanion powf der container 56 and guide it into the arcuate cut-out 39in the upper night. As the hoist advances, tongues 38 and 31 on thelower night L move up against the bottomsl of the projectile and powdercontainer respectively and pick them up.

.Eig. 5 shows how a box 51 of 40 mm. ammunition nts into the conveyer.In loading such a box it ls placed on one end on the lower loading tableand its weight depresses divider 5l nush with the table. v'.Tlhe box isput in place in time to be picked up by the upper night U. Fig. 5 alsoshows how `a box 58 of 20 mm. ammunition nts into the conveyer. This boxis placed on the upper loading table in time to be picked by the uppernight.

Each of the trunk sections is divided by a longitudinal partition plate59, The nights hoist on one side of the plate and return on the other.Fig. 5 shows how this plate isI pressed to form guide surfaces 60, 60for box 51 and guide surfaces 6I, 6l for boxv 58. The front walls of thetrunk sections are pressed in such shape as to form companion guidesurfaces 60', 60' and 6I', 8i. The corners between surfaces 60' and 6lact as guides for the 5" projectile and its powder contain'er. In bottomtrunk section Il the parat the top of Fig. 5 where the lower night L isin lower loading tables on which are placed the articles that are to vbehoisted. These tables are so subdivided and cut out that the nights Uand L move through them vand pick up the articles. 'I'hese are shown inFigs. 3, 4 and 6. The lower loading-table has `a forward table surfaceI5, and a rear table surface 48. The upper loading table is built upfrom the sides of the lower table andA is in the form of two forwardsupporting ledges and two rearward supporting ledges. The forward ledgesare at41. and 48, and the rearward ledges are at 49 and 50. The upperloading table may be at any suitable height above the lowerloading'table, and in some cases I place it at a higher level than isshown in the drawings.

The forward surface 45 of the lowertable is divided by a depressibledivider 5l (Figs. 4 and tition 59 terminates at a point permitting thenights to pass beneath it as the chains pass around the lower sprockets25 and 2B. In top trunk section l2 the nights may either pass over thetop of partition 59 or through a hole 62 inV it and of such shape as tolpermit the nights to pass through.

Reference will now be had to Figs. 2, '1 and 8, which show the conveyerdrive D. Chains 28 and 29 drive the conveyer shaft 21. Arranged atintervals along these chains are internal cams, designated as a whole by63, and each of which is formed by two cam sections 64, 64. These camsbridge the space between the chains and are attached to specialconnecting links 65' which form a part of the chains( The length of thecams is slightly less than the space between sprockets 30 and 3|, sothat the cams can be carried past the sprockets. Located betweenthebranches of chains 28 and 29 is the endless link chain 32 which lies ina plane perpendicular to the planes of chains 28 and 29. Chain 32 passesover suitable upper and lower sprockets, the lower sprocket being drivenfrom electric motor unit 65. Two cam rollers 68, 68 re carried by chain32, being mounted on special knuckle pins of the chain. The motor unitincludes suitable gearing and may include an electromagnetic clutch todisengage the hoist while the motor is left running. A suitablebrake isincluded to automatically hold the hoist whenever the hoist is stopped.Such brake'may be of the type shown in'Henheksen U. s. Patent 2,042,937,June 2, 1936.

The arrangement is such that one rollerl'enters one cam 63 just beforethe other roller 86 leaves another cam 63. When the entering roll- 6)which is pivoted at 52 beneath the tablef VCoil spring 54 biases thisdivider upwardly through a suitable slot in the table. This dividercomes inproportional, tothe speed of chain 32 until the roller 6B startsto slow down on reaching the other sprocket of chain 32. It will beapparent that with chain 32 driven at constant speed, the hoist willadvance in start-stop fashion, i. e., stepby-step. The drive is, ofcourse, so coordinated with the hoist that the pauses occur when thehoisting nights are in station position for loading and unloading.

Instead of placing chain 32 between the branches of chains 28 and 29, Imay place it outside of the branches. In such case the cams 63 areplaced outside of chains 28 and 29 and face outwardly.

With the drive shown in Figs. 2, 7 and 8, the hoist will pause onlymomentarily at station positionV if chain 32 is kept in motion. However,longer dwells in station position may beV obtained by substituting forchain 32, the chain 32 shown in Fig. l0. This passes over four sprockets10, 'l l, l2 and 18, one' of which is motor driven. 'Ihe dwell lastswhile a cam roller 66 is passing from dead center position on sprocket'l0 to dead center position on sprocket 1|. In using chain 32' it is, ofcourse, necessary to increase the spacing of chains 28 and 29, withcorresponding increase in the length of cams 63.

Using the drive of Figs. 2, 7 and 8, and keeping the chain 32 in uniformmotion at full speed, the hoist will have a speed-time curve of the typeshown in Fig. 1l. As a roller 66 approaches the upper sprocket of chain32, the hoist will be at full speed as shown by portion s of the curve.As the roller passes around the sprocket quadrant to upper dead-centerposition, the hoist decelerates and momentarily comes to rest at p(upper dead-center). As the roller passes around the succeeding sprocketquadrant, the hoist accelerates to full Speed. Full speed continues, asshown by curve portion t, until the roller starts around the lowersprocket. The hoist then de'- .oelerates until the roller reaches lowerdeadcenter position, when the hoist again pauses mmentarily at p. vAsthe roller passes around the succeeding quadrant of the lower sprocket,the hoist again accelerates and then moves at full speed as indicated bycurve portion u.

Using the drive of Fig. 10 and keeping chain 32 in uniform motion atfull speed, the hoist will have a speed-time curve of the type shown inFig. l2. As a roller 66 passes around sprocket l0 to dead-centerpositionthe hoist decelerates from s to zero. The dwell d lasts while roller 66is passing from dead-center position at the top of sprocket 10 todead-center position at the top of sprocket 1|. occurs as roller 66passes around the quadrant of sprocket 1|. This action is, of course,repeated Acceleration to curve portion t l at lower sprockets 'I4 and12, as is illustrated by the second half of the curve of Fig. 12.

The control circuit is shown in purely schematic fashion in Fig. 9. Thisshows 'a pair U and L of the hoisting flights at the loading station,another pair at the unloading station, and one of the between stationpairs. The nights are provided with spring retracted cams adapted to beshifted outwardly by the articles on the nights. The number and locationof these cams will depend upon the types of articles to be conveyed. Asillustrated, there are two cams on each lower night L and one cam oneach upper night U.

The cams for the three pairs of nights shown are designated by referencecharacters a through i. Mounted on the wall of the hoist casing thereare switches 80 through 85 which are actuated by the cams when the camsare shifted outwardly and the holst is in station position.

Assume switches 86, 8l, 88 and 89 to be in the position shown and thatthe hoist is being lused to carry two articles on the lower nights L, e.g., to carry the projectile 55 and its powder container 56. At theloading station the projectile 55 is shown in place, with resultantclosing of switch 8| by cam b. As soon as a powder container is loadedin place, switch will be closed by cam a. Circuit will then be fromconductor 90, switches 9| and 86, conductors 92 and 93, switch 80,conductor 94, switch 8|, switch 8l, conductor 95 to switch 83 which isshown held open by cam g since the powder container 56 has not beenunloaded at the loading station. As soon as the powder container 56 andthe projectile 55 have been removed at the unloading station, thecircuit will be completed from conductor 95, switches 83, 84 and 85,conductor 96, relay winding 91, conductors 98 and 99, and switches 86and 9| to conductor |94 of the current source. Thus the relay picks up.

The relay is provided with contacts which cause the hoist to be set inmotion either by energizing the motor or by energizing a magneticallycontrolled clutch mechanically interposed between the motor and theconveyer. For this purpose the relay may have two or three motorcontacts, depending upon whether a two wire or a three wire currentsource is used. A two wire source and two motor contacts are shown. Thecircuit is from conductor 90, switches 9| and 86, conductors 92 and |03,relay contact |0|, the motor or clutch, relay Icontact |02, conductors|00 and 99, and switches 86 and 9| to conductor |04 of the currentsource. The relay locks up through a. holding circuit from currentsource conductor 90, switches 9| and 86, conductors 92, |03 and |05,relay contact |06, conductors |01 vand 95, switches 83, 84, and 85(which are now closed), conductor 96, relay winding 91, conductors 98and 99, and switches 86 and 9| to current source conductor |08. Thus,the hoist is set in motion and is not stopped by the opening of switches80, and 8| when the hoist advances from the loading station.

When a new load reaches the unloading station, the holding circuit isbroken by the opening of one or more of the switches 83, 84 and 85.Thus, the action of the hoist drive is suspended until loading andunloading have again been completed.

If the hoist be fully and quickly manned, the loading and unloading maybe accomplished as the hoist is decelerating into station position. Inthis case the hoist will only pause in station position under the actionof the mechanical stopstart drive D, and the electrical control systemjust described will not come into play. However, on failure or delay inloading or unloading, the electrical control system will hold the hoistin station position as long as need be.

In loading the hoist from complete empty condition it may be manuallystopped in successive station positions by switch 9| until the firstload reaches the unloading station. Switch 9| may then be left closedfor automatic operation. To completely empty the hoist, switches B1,- 88and 89 are closed, whereupon the conveyer will advance as soon asunloaded at the unloading station. To set the hoist for carryingammunition boxes on the upper nights U, switches 88 and 89 are closedand switch 81 opened.

The hoist is also operable in reverse direction to take ammunition fromthe gun deck to the magazine. For this purpose the drive motor isreversed by a reversing switch which may be conventional andconventionally connected. When the handle |09 of the reversing switch isshifted, a mechanical connection ||0 therefrom shifts switch 86. Switch86 eliminates the control circuit just described and substitutes a downcontrol circuit. The "down circuit is the same as the "up circuit exceptthat the switches corresponding to switches 83, 84 and85 are locatedatthe lower station and the switches corresponding-to switchesll, 8|, 82,8l, 88 andv89 are located at the upper station. The cam actuatedswitches .of the down circuit may. be mounted alongside such switches ofthe up circuit, and the cams a through z' be broad enough to actuate theswitches of both circuits.

The invention has been disclosed by largely diagrammatic drawings. Itwill be understood that appropriate mechanical design is used to providefor assembly, accessibility of parts, replacement of parts, etc.

In compliance with the patent statutes, I have disclosed the best formin whichl I have contemplated applying my invention. It will beunderstood, however, that the disclosure is illustrative rather thanlimiting.

What I claim is:

1. A step-by-step conveyer comprising: loading and unloading stations, aflexible conveyer element extending between said stations, article- Amoving means attached at intervals to said exible conveyer element totransport articles from station to station, and drive means to move saidconveyer element step-by-step, the conveyer element pausing for loadingand unloz'idingv of the articles at the stations; said drive meanscomprising an auxiliary start-stop ilexible element, engageablemeansattached to said auxiliary flexible element, start-stop stationsfor said engageable means, a plurality of actuating means moving inunison and operative to successively en'- gage and repeatedly move eachof said engageable means from start-stop station to start-stop station,one of ysaid actuating means being at all times engaged with one of saidengageable means, and a driving connection from the auxiliaryflexiblelelement to the conveyer exible element, the station-to-stationmovement of said engageable means establishing the step-by-step movementof the conveyer flexible element. h 2. A conveyer as in claim 1 in whichthe ilexible conveyer` element and the auxiliary iiexlble elements eachcomprise endlessflink chains.

3. A conveyer as in claim l in-which there are two flexible conveyerelements consisting of endless link chains in spaced relation, and thearticle-moving means bridges the space between the chains and isattached to each of them.

4. A step-by-step conveyer'comprising: loading and unloading stations, ailexible conveyer element extending between Said stations, articlemovingmeans attached at intervals to said ilexible conveyer element totransport articles from A station to station, and drive means to movesaid conveyer element step-by-step, the conveyer element pausing forloading and unloading of the articles at the stations; said drive meanscomprising two auxiliary start-stop flexible elements nection from saidchains to said conveyer ilexlble element, the station-to-stationmovement of said engageable means establishing the step-by-step movementof the conveyer flexible element.

5. A step-by-step conveyer comprising: loading and unloading stations,two ilexible conveyer elements extending between said stations, saidconveyer elements consisting of endless link chains' in spaced relation,article-moving means attached at intervals to said iexible conveyerelements to transport articles from station to station, the article-moving means bridging the space between said chains and beingattached to each of them, and drive means to move said conveyer elementsstep-by-step, the conveyer elements pausing for loading and unloading ofthe articles at the stations; said drive means comprising two auxiliarystart-stop flexible elements, said vauxiliary ilexible elementconsisting of endless link chains in spaced relation, engageable meansattached to said auxiliary iiexible element, said engageable meansbridging the space between the two chains Vconstituting the auxiliaryilexible elements and beingattached to each of such chains, start-stopstations for said engageable means, actuating means to engage andrepeatedly move each of said engageable means from start-stop station tostart-stop station, and a driving connection from the auxiliary flexibleelements to the conveyer flexible elements, the station-,to-station`movement of said engageable means establishing the step-by-stepmovement of the conveyer ilexible elements. i

6. A step-by-step conveyer comprising: loading and unloading stations, aflexible conveyer element extending between said stations, articlemovingmeans attached at intervals to said flexible conveyer element totransport articles from station to station, and drive lmeans to movesaid conveyer element step-by-step, the conveyer element pausing forloading and unloadingof the articles at the stations; said drive meanscomprising two auxiliary start-stop ilexible elements consisting ofendless link chains in spaced relation, engageable means bridging thespace between said chains and attached to each of them, start-stopstations for said engageable means,

, actuating means to engage and repeatedly move consisting of endlesslink chains in spaced .:la-v

tion, engageable means bridging the space between said chains andattached to eachof them. start-stop stations for said engageable means,actuating means to engage and repeatedly move each of said engageablemeans from start-stop station to start-stop station, and a driving'l coneach of said engageable means from start-stop station to start-stopstation, an additional endless link chain carrying said actuating means,

and a driving connection from the auxiliary exible elements to theconveyer ilexible element, the station-to-station movementof saidengageable means establishing the step-by-step movement of the conveyerflexible element.

7.' A step-by-step conveyer comprising: loading and unloading stations,a, ilexible conveyer element extending between said stations,articlemoving means attached at intervals to said flexible conveyerelement to transport articles from station to station, and drive meansto move said conveyer element step-by-step, the conveyer element pausingfor loading and unloading of the articles at the stations; said drivemeans comprising two auxiliary start-stop iiexible elements conslsting.of endless link chains in spaced relation, engageable means attached tosaid auxiliary ilexible elements, such engageable means being cams whichbridge the space between said chains and are attached to each of them,startfstop stations for said engageable means, actuating means to engageand repeatedly move each of said engageable means from start-stopstation to startstop station, said actuating means comprising a rollerwhich enters and leaves the cam, and a driving connection from theauxiliary nexible elements to the conveyer flexible element, thestation-to-station movement of said engageable means establishing thestep-by-step movement of the conveyer flexible element.

8. A step-by-step conveyer comprising: loading and unloading stations, aexible conveyer element extending between said stations, article-Vmoving means attached at intervals to said ilexible conveyer element totransport articles from station to station, and drive means to move saidconveyer element stepbystep, the conveyer element pausing for loadingand unloading of the articles at the stations; said drive meanscomprising two auxiliary start-stop flexible elements consisting ofendless link chains located in spaced parallel planes, at least twoengageable means attached to said auxiliary ilexible elements, saidengageable means being in the form of internal cams located at intervalsalong the chains constituting the auxiliary flexible elements andbridging the space between such chains, start-stop stations for saidengageable means, atleast two spaced actuating members which enter andleave the cams and repeatedly move each of said cams from start-stopstation to start-stop station, one of said actuating members enteringone cam before another of said actuating members leaves another camwhereby an actuating member is at all tines in engagement with a cam,said actuating member being carried by means moving in a planetransverse to said parallel planes, and a driving connection from theauxiliary iiexible elements to the conveyer flexible element, thestation-to-station movement of said engageable means establishing thestep-by-step movement of the conveyer flexible element.

9. A conveyer as in claim 1 in which there is means to automaticallydisable the conveyer when the load reaches the unloading station andkeep it disabled Yuntil the load has been removed. e

l0. A conveyer as in claim 1 in which there is means to automaticallydisable the conveyer when it reaches station position and normally keepit disabled until it has been loaded at the loading station 11. Aconveyer as in claim 1 in which there is means controlled by the load todisable the conveyer in station position and normally keep it disableduntil the load at the unloading position has been removed and a new loadhas been applied at the loading station.

BJARNE HENRIGKSEN.

